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Topic: Favorite Wood Odor/Scent? Worst? (Read 7433 times)

I was turning a small piece of lignum vitae a couple of weeks ago, and found that it really smells good. I have a small piece at work that I occasionally scrape a bit just for the smell.

Other woods that I think smell really good when cut include Port Orford cedar and imbuiya (in small doses).

Aromatic cedars and junipers are also nice, but are quite commen.

I've never had the opportunity to cut sandalwood or camphor.

It seems that woods with distinctive odors are that way because of the oils in the wood, and that means that they tend to be allergens and irritants as well. Also, several of the woods on the list are on at least one non-sustainable list, including lignum vitae, Port Orford cedar, and several species of sandalwood.

On the bad side, last year I cut down a Siberian Elm (which everyone around here wishes was non-sustainable) with just a hint of a musty pile of wet carpet from a room where cats had lived without enough training. It's still drying, so I haven't been able to cut it dry yet.

What woods do you like to cut because they smell good?Any that you think smell particularly bad?Any unusual local woods that the rest of us would have trouble getting?What woods maintain their scent over time in a way that enhances pieces that use them? Aromatic cedar is an obvious example.

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I like the smell of a lot of different woods Pine and cedar are very distinctive but I'm a Kentucky boy so oak for the bourbon barrels is my favorite. The worst to me is zebrawood when sanding, it smells like dung!!

Bubinga on the other hand is toxic to me. First time I used it I was careless about wearing a respirator and gave myself a 7-day sinus infection. Just recently I cut a 3" strip of 3/8 stock on the bandsaw and hand sanded it to make a test of square plugs and felt the effects. It's now on my hazardous materials list.

RMW

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I turn some acrylic before and for me its the worst smell. I will not work with it anymore. My favorite wood to work with is Cherry as far as smell. Ipe was the wood that got me into Festool being I have an a allergy to it.

BEST - When I was in Phoenix for a wedding last Summer, I bought three slabs taken from the biggest Olive tree in Arizona (killed by a lightning strike). I folded down the seats in a rented Ford Explorer and drove home to Houston enjoying the pleasant smell of fresh olives.

WORST - Shortly before the trip, I scorched some Gaboon Ebony trying to reduce the thickness by 1/32 with a drum sander. (Suffice it to say bad things happen in the workshop when you're in a hurry.) Burnt ebony doesn't just smell acrid, the smoke is also very toxic. My lungs felt like they were on fire! I seriously considered going to the emergency room. Luckily, I had an Albuterol inhaler on hand from a previous illness and a couple of puffs seemed to help but my lungs ached for a couple of days.

After I made a fence and a gate for a customer it took weeks until the smell went out of my CT26 (yes the nasty smell stayed allthough I replaced the bag immediately after, it slowly got better after I put a bunch of those vaccuum anti-odour sticks in)

I like Walnut but too much cutting of it can overwhelm my basement shop at times. Cheap Plywood DOES smell bad.... Bloodwood was interesting, so were some other Tropical Woods that I bought in small sizes for Turning Projects a few years ago. Poplar smells okay for me, maybe I'm just lucky with it... Cedar's nice, both Red and White Oak too. Purpleheart as long as I don't burn a cut with it... The various Mahoganys are okay too.

Fresh cut sasafras smells good enough to chew. I like the smell of white oak fresh cut as well as well seasoned. Cedars (all the junipers) are great smells but they make me sneeze, my nose gets drippy and my eyes watery. But i like the smell anyhow.

Definitely Huon Pine for a timber I've worked with.. though I did have a pen given to me made out of sandal wood. It sits in a draw and is pulled out periodically and run under my nose in what I imagine is similar to those tv/movie scenes when a fat old cigar is pulled out and passed pleasingly under the nose before being lit.. (I how ever have never lit up my pen)

darn. Saw the topic and thought I would jump in and add Huon Pine, but I see that a couple of other Aussies beat me to it. I keep a nice long curled-up shaving of it in my desk drawer. Of course it now smells nothing like a fresh shaving.

Update: I see that my original exclamatory term was auto-edited to 'darn'. Cute.

« Last Edit: June 22, 2017, 12:03 AM by jjowen »

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Santos Mahogany(which is not mahogany at all) by a factor of 100 is my all time favorite. Sometimes I cut a piece just to smell up the shop. Some people call it Cabreuva, it's scientific name is Myroxylon balsamum. If you get a real piece I think it may fast become a favorite shop smell for you. It's also pretty darn hard(twice as hard as Oak easily) and a nice wood to work with.

Some of the other smells I like are most of the True Rosewoods and True Bloodwood, not the knockoff Bloodwood that smells like a dumpster. Tulipwood has a similar scent I love as well.

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The one who says it can't be done should avoid interrupting the person doing it.

Festool USA does not pre-approve the contents of this website nor endorse the application or use of any Festool product in any way other than in the manner described in the Festool Instruction Manual. To reduce the risk of serious injury and/or damage to your Festool product, always read, understand and follow all warnings and instructions in your Festool product's Instruction Manual. Although Festool strives for accuracy in the website material, the website may contain inaccuracies. Festool makes no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of the material on this website or about the results to be obtained from using the website. Festool and its affiliates cannot be responsible for improper postings or your reliance on the website's material. Your use of any material contained on this website is entirely at your own risk. The content contained on this site is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

White Oak smell like pickles to me, not my favorite nor do I hate it, but it is fun that certain woods smell like certain things to us. Using so many different woods over the years I can probably identify 20 woods maybe more from their "cut" odor.

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The one who says it can't be done should avoid interrupting the person doing it.

I've just gotten small pieces here and there when I had the chance. The biggest piece I have is just slight oversized enough to make a wooden sole for a plane one day. I have a couple of pieces for turning around 2x2x whatever long.

Interesting factoid - Shackleton's ship Endurance was clad in 4" thick Lignum Vitae to make it tough enough to stand the Antarctic ice. At one point I figured that at today's prices (assuming that you could even get the boards), it was upwards of two million dollars.